Bambu Lab A1 mini 3D printer review – 4 color printing is awesome!

REVIEW – I’m nonetheless a beginner on this planet of 3D printing, however I’m having fun with the training course of. Ever since I reviewed a tiny toy 3D printer a few years in the past, I’ve continued to have an interest within the interest. A number of printers later and I’m beginning to get the grasp of issues and was tremendous excited when the chance got here as much as evaluate the Bambu Lab A1 mini 3D printer. What makes the A1 mini so fascinating? It makes multi-color prints straightforward and enjoyable! Let’s test it out.

What’s it?

The Bambu Lab A1 mini is a 3D printer that may work with Bambu’s 4-color filament Computerized Materials System AMS Lite accent.

What’s within the field?

• Bambu A1 mini 3D printer
• AMS lite physique
• AMS lite stand
• Accent field
• Bambu filament swatches
• Pattern filament
• Fast begin information

Specs

Meeting

The Bambu Lab A1 mini 3D printer arrives in a single well-packed massive field.

All the pieces that you simply want for simple meeting is included within the package deal apart from some snips to chop the wire ties.

The Bambu Lab A1 mini 3D printer itself is about 98% assembled and requires minimal effort to arrange.

A small number of instruments helps you with the ultimate meeting which is principally just some screws.

Assembling the AMS Lite is simply as straightforward. All you need to do is connect the bottom, snap on the filament spool holders and eventually connect the filament tubes.

Attaching the filament tubes between the AMS Lite and the Bambu Lab A1 mini 3D printer is just about plug and play.

Observe that though the Bambu Lab A1 mini 3D printer has a comparatively small footprint in comparison with many different 3D printers, you will have ample area on a desk / desk if you happen to decide to purchase the bundle with the AMS Lite unit.

The AMS Lite is a separate unit that’s an elective buy for the A1 mini. It means that you can ship as much as 4 filaments to the Bambu A1 Mini printer. The AMS has built-in motors that seize the top of the filaments and route them via particular person feeder tubes to the A1 Mini printer head. I’ve by no means used an AMS system earlier than and was fairly shocked after I added a roll of filament and began feeding the filament and the AMS Lite grabbed it and began it pulling it mechanically. The AMS additionally magically is aware of what filament that you’ve in every slot (while you use Bambu filament). I consider it’s utilizing some sort of NFC tag within the spool. However once more, the primary time I noticed this, I used to be blown away.

Design and options

The Bambu Lab A1 mini 3D printer is a well-made compact 3D printer with a shade contact display screen on the bottom. That is what 3D printer individuals name a mattress slinger fashion 3D printer. It’s designed with a mattress that strikes within the Y course, and a print head that strikes within the X course and up and down. Talking of the mattress, it’s small with a construct quantity of seven.25 x 7.25 x 7.25 in (180 x 180 x 180 mm).

It additionally has a built-in digicam and lightweight that can will let you seize timelapse movies of your prints and realtime viewing while you’re away from the printer.

Included with the printer is a textured PEI construct plate that I’ve actually loved utilizing. In contrast to the opposite 3D printers that I’ve texted with common plates, this one leaves an virtually glowing texture on the underside of prints, and the prints are simply eliminated with no residue left on the plate – not less than thus far.

Let’s print!

Sending prints to the A1 Mini 3D printer will be achieved utilizing the Bambu Studio desktop software program, the Bambu Useful cellular app, and even by copying the fashions on to the microSD card. The app strategies will let you select from the library of prints on Makerworld after which put together (slice) them for the printer.

I primarily used the Bambu Studio desktop utility (proven above), however I additionally put in the Bambu Useful app on my iPhone. Having each is a good suggestion as a result of they each use the cloud and can warn you when the print has accomplished printing or if there’s a downside through the printing course of. Even if you happen to begin the print utilizing the desktop app, the cellular app will present notifications.

If you select a mannequin and slice it, you may as well select which colours of filament to make use of. It’ll present the spools put in on the AMS Lite and will let you assign colours to the completely different elements of the print if that’s relevant.

The software program permits for lots of customization relying on what you want for every print. For instance, you possibly can select from several types of helps.

You may also verify on the standing of the print with a dwell view from the digicam that’s constructed into the Bambu Lab A1 Mini printer.

There are even just a few prints loaded into the printer itself, which you’ll entry from the printer’s contact display screen.

You may also change the colour of the print via the contact display screen.

In fact, the primary mannequin I printed was of a Benchy since that’s the equal of writing a “hi there world” program. It’s the best way to shake out the kinks of a brand new printer and to see what it’s able to. You possibly can see the result within the picture above. That is precisely what the print regarded like after I pulled it off the construct plate. It was probably the most good benchy that I’ve ever printed with no strings by any means. I believe it might need additionally been the quickest benchy that I’ve ever achieved at about quarter-hour.

I’ve already talked about that the AMS Lite means that you can print a number of shade fashions extra simply, however there’s a gotcha, and that gotcha known as poop. What the heck is poop? It’s the additional filament that’s extruded to filter a earlier shade so as to get able to print the subsequent shade.

The printer has what known as a purge wiper (proven above). It’ll gather a weblog of extruded filament after which swipe it from the tip of the nozzle.

These blobs are known as poop. Once I printed the benchy mannequin, it made two little blobs of filament poop that you simply see above. However…

Once I printed a multi-colored mannequin of a fox, issues had been completely different, as in a LOT extra poop!

Take a look at all that poop that was generated from that small fox appeal. Yikes! That is one thing to pay attention to while you resolve to print a multi-colored mannequin that isn’t generated from particular person elements that you may batch print in a single shade at a time. In terms of comfort, you need to pay for it 🙂

See it in motion

If you watch that video, you’re most likely questioning in regards to the vibration you possibly can see because it prints. It does vibrate fairly a bit, nevertheless it doesn’t trigger any issues with the prints as a result of the calibration course of takes that into consideration.

What I like

• Simple to make use of
• Little or no meeting required
• AMS Lite mechanically detects filament sort and shade (when utilizing Bambu filament)
• FAST!
• Nice high quality prints
• Good worth

What I’d change

• An extended energy twine could be nice

Closing ideas

The Bambu Lab A1 mini 3D printer is a good little 3D printer for rookies like me and others who need to get into printing small fashions that will or could not use a number of colours of filament. I believe this 3D printer is a good gateway “drug” into the larger extra complicated 3D printers which might be available on the market. Okay, I’ve to get again to researching a venture that I’m at the moment engaged on that’s going to make use of the Bambu Lab A1 mini 3D printer. I discussed this venture on my Favourite devices of 2023 video… go test it out!

Worth: $459.00 (with AMS Lite), $299.00 (printer solely)
The place to purchase: Bambu Lab
Supply: The pattern for this evaluate was supplied by Bambu Lab.